So much can change, so little stays the same
by Who am I. Well. I'm just Me
Summary: TMNT's 30th Anniversary fic. Michelangelo's POV 30 years in the future.


So much can happen in thirty years.

So much can change, so little stays the same. People come and go as they please, someone dies and new life rises.

People change, some for the best, some others for the worse.

People fall in love, hearts are broken and wounds heal… most of them.

No one can escape from Father Time's clutches and although it might sound scary at first, just like every father, time knows what's best for us. My family and I are no exception either.

We never dreamed of seeing the world thirty years later, we weren't even sure we would live past our teens considering our line of work was full of deadly assassins, crazy scientists, paranormal adventures and the occasional broke ass street jerk but against all the odds here we are, a bit older, a lot more cautious, mature… different and the same all in one.

Like Donatello, who never stopped being a brainiac; he's become more brilliant and his inventions have changed the lives of many as well as ours. Just when I thought I had seen all his inventions, he continued surprising me and making our family proud. He's relieved to see the nightmarish future he foresaw thanks to the Daimyo's son didn't become real; he's still with us doing what he loves most. His feelings towards April eventually vanished but he hasn't given himself a chance to love again. Maybe in another thirty years? Turtles have the longest lifespan after all.

Raphael, my dearest brother, still a hothead but thirty years don't pass in vain and what once used to be a raging inferno, has now become a warm, comforting fire. It took him thirty years and a baby to lighten up his mood. No, he didn't become a daddy thought he might as well have; April and Casey were blessed with a little girl -Shadow- and Raph became her godfather. Now that she's a teenager, Raph trains her to become either a crazy vigilante like her dad or a skilled kunoichi. Who knows, she might master both then she'd be the terror of the town though I don't think her mom approves… yet.

Casey's late night rounds have been less frequent and he avoids most of danger as possible; he knows what it is to grow up without a father and he doesn't want Shadow to suffer that kind of loss.

April is still as beautiful, intelligent, supportive and motherly as thirty years ago… only with more gray hair than Master Splinter.

Speaking of him…

We knew there would come a time when we would lose him, when we would be alone without his guidance. However no amount of preparation is enough when the moment comes, the day you wake up and realize your parents aren't there for you anymore. You feel like you're completely alone in the world, vulnerable and fragile like a newborn.

His departure still hurts deep in my heart but I've learned to deal with that pain with the help of my brothers and my friends. Wish I could say the same about Leonardo.

Losing Master Splinter was painful for all of us but Leo still remembers that day with tears in his eyes just like the very same day we buried him. With time, he overcame that obstacle but I hear him sometimes at night, talking to his picture and weeping softly at night.

But not all has been pain and suffering for him.

Leonardo finished his training with the tribunal when he was twenty two and became Jounin, inheriting the clan and the title of Master; I had never seen Father so proud before, his eldest son was going to carry on with his legacy training the rest of us- and maybe a future generation of our own if possible- when he was gone. I was worried for a moment that change would affect his and Raph's relationship but apparently they had put their differences behind and thirty years later they're the best brothers and friends you've ever known.

As for me, I'm still my family's light in the darkness, the goofball, the prankster.

Although I'm the baby brother, truth is I'm not a baby anymore; I had to grow up too and it's slightly difficult for me to find the positive side of situations and people but I still got my touch.

I've taken an interest in fine arts and writing; I've always been the creative type but now I've matured enough to bring my most challenging and complex creations to life and publish them on my own website. The pay is good and I always get commissions but most of my income goes directly in comic book collections and new videogames.

Old habits die hard, I guess.

My memory is not as sharp as it used to be; I may have forgotten what most of our friends and allies have been doing these past thirty years.

I do remember the lost of my baby: my cat Klunk. He died peacefully in his sleep just like Master Splinter. Never got another cat after I lost him, it wouldn't have been fair for the new cat dude but I do contribute with donations and I volunteer at a near rescue center.

See? I've matured!

I know I'm missing some names and faces but all I know is that they are still around, still loyal to us and it's always an honor to still have them in our lives. If Master Splinter was around I'm sure he'd be looking at his sons with pride.

There's not much for us to do, lately. Thanks to Don's inventions, the police force has improved their capturing methods and now crime rates have lowered which means not enough bad guys for us to pummel but there are always a few left.

So much can happen in thirty years however fear is something not even time can't change. We are still seen as monsters, still hunted, rejected by the same humans we've protected every single night for the last thirty years. We've given our lives for this city and its inhabitants yet one day we will die and the world won't even know we were here and for those who did see us we will always be the monsters, the weird costumed guys… freaks.

It's ok, though. Recognition and praise are not part of a ninja's life. We fight for justice and honor; the shadows are our best allies and anonymity is our identity. Master Splinter used to say that a lot.

Once in a while I wander down memory lane, I see ourselves as teens again, carefree, a bit naïve and immature with not a single clue about what did the future have in store for us and despite the bad stuff that happened to us along the years… I can't help but smile. It's been a Cowabunga ride, of that I am sure.

Thirty years. Heh. So much can happen in thirty years.

So much can change, so little stays the same.

...

...

Here's to another thirty years of TMNT and epic ninja action!


End file.
